


You Have Stolen My Heart (and Flowers)

by IAmNotGoodatthisnamingthing



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Awkward Romance, Fluffy, M/M, happy belated birthday ldv
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 17:03:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14241855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IAmNotGoodatthisnamingthing/pseuds/IAmNotGoodatthisnamingthing
Summary: Someone has been stealing flowers from Kyungsoo’s garden, and today he’s going to find out who.





	You Have Stolen My Heart (and Flowers)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lady-serendipity (JenZz)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenZz/gifts).



> This was inspired by a conversation with [my ldv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenZz/pseuds/lady-serendipity) and [this post](https://www.instagram.com/p/BfrbyZKlu84/)
> 
> Happy late birthday [Jen](http://lady-serendipity.tumblr.com/). Thank you for being my pillar of support, ily

Someone has been stealing flowers from Kyungsoo’s garden, and today he’s going to find out who.

 

He has woken up two hours earlier than his usual time – and that too on a weekend – just to catch this thief red-handed, because he has had enough.

A school teacher by profession, Kyungsoo spends his weekdays teaching English to ~~an absolute bunch of disrespectful hooligans~~ fifth graders, and tolerating the loud antics of his colleagues Chanyeol and Jongdae, who he has the misfortune of sharing the same office with.

 

All in all, he is surrounded by a bunch of distracted kids who he needs to keep his eyes on at all times, and so to destress, he shuts his phone off on weekends ( _No, Chanyeol, he doesn’t want to karaoke. And although Jongdae’s boyfriend Yixing’s cooking is to die for, Jongdae’s company is so not worth his heavenly food_ ). And so he gardens. With a passion.

 

There’s just something absolutely calming about sowing different seeds in his backyard and nurturing them as they grow into beautiful flowering plants. Kyungsoo loves flowers – yet another reason he hasn’t murdered Jongdae yet, because Yixing hyung is his florist, and the best gardening mentor – and he has a whole bunch of autumn flowers currently growing in his backyard. Kyungsoo loves looking out his window every morning and being greeted by the sight of the vibrant pansies, marigolds and snapdragons. But lately, he’s been noticing that some of his flowers have been going missing.

 

For the past two weeks or so, someone has been stealing from his garden, one flower at a time, and leaving his flower pots toppled on the ground, and Kyungsoo is determined to find the culprit.

 

Last weekend, he had tried staying up at night to catch his flower-thief, but had dozed off somewhere around 3am and woken to one of his lovely lobelias missing. _So, the thief steals sometime after dawn_ , he had inferred. And today, he had woken at the crack of dawn and made himself a pot of coffee, and seated himself at his kitchen table (with a bag of potato chips), ready to catch the thief in action.

 

He’s ~~glaring~~ looking at his garden, and it is almost 6am, when he sees a corgi wiggling in through the fence separating his backyard from his neighbor’s property. Kyungsoo is momentarily distracted by the cute dog and how it is waddling on its short legs to notice that it is making straight for his beloved plants. His jaw drops when the dog bounds right up to one of his potted sunflowers headbutts it so it falls on it’s side. The little loaf of a dog then nips the stem of a flower and then makes off across the yard with the bright flower in its mouth.

 

Kyungsoo sits speechlessly in his chair for a good minute before getting up and perfunctorily walking out to his yard, just to make sure that what he saw was right. He is greeted by the sight of his vandalized pot. _Yep, his flower thief is a little loaf of a dog._

 

He picks the pot up in his hand and decides to pay a visit to his neighbor. Cute dog or not, Kyungsoo won’t tolerate this blatant vandalism of his beloved plants. And he’ll put a stop to this – as soon as he changes out of his pajamas and into proper clothes.

 

.

.

.

 

Kyungsoo doesn’t know what he is expecting when he knocks the door of his neighbor. But he has come armed with his sunflower pot and a polite but stern warning he had perfected delivering in front of the mirror for the last 15 minutes.

 

“Coming,” a raspy voice singsongs from the other side of the door, and Kyungsoo schools his face into a somber expression, ready to begin his spiel at a moment’s notice. But _then_ …

 

The door opens, and out steps a boy not that much taller than him wearing a bright, warm smile and a pilfered sunflower in his pastel pink hair. And Kyungsoo feels his stomach _swoop_ as any and all coherent thought flies out of his mind, and the next thing he knows, he is shoving the soiled pot at rectangular grin guy and hastily speedwalking away to his home.

 

He slams the door closed behind him, and pants like a winded buffalo, trying to make sense of what had just happened. _Okay._

 

He had gone to confront his neighbor because of his criminally-inclined dog.

 

_Understandable._

 

But, seeing said neighbor’s bright smile and equally bright eyes had turned his brain into mush, and so he had…shoved his flower pot at him…and ran away.

_Yeah, no._

 

_Uh oh._

 

He bangs his head against the door, berating his idiotic action, before whining out at the pain, and deciding to make himself a cup of tea to calm himself down ~~and think about his life choices.~~

 

No sooner than he had taken three steps away, someone knocked on the door. Kyungsoo’s heart jumped into throat, because… _what if it was rectangular grin guy, wondering what to do with his newly acquired pot_?

 

Oh god, what was Kyungsoo gonna say, he was so doomed. His mother had told him not to move to this suburb, and she was so –

 

“Kyungsoo hyung?” A familiar voice called out. “It’s me, open up.”

 

“Hunnie?” he opened his door to let the tall college student walk in. “What are you doing here at 7.15?”

 

“I was on my jog when I saw you run into your house.” Well, that would explain the all black tracksuit. “And I know you don’t do cardio voluntarily, so what’s up? And why was Baekhyun hyung staring at you?”

 

“Baekhyun hyung?”

 

“Your new next-door neighbor? Oh, I forgot you hadn’t met him,” Sehun shrugged, dropping into Kyungsoo’s couch.

 

Sehun, Kyungsoo’s first and only friend in the neighbourhood, lived in an apartment at the end of the street with two of his model friends, but often came over for dinner at Kyungsoo’s, because he couldn’t cook to save his life and Kyungsoo didn’t mind his quiet company.

 

“He moved in what? A month or so ago. I’ve talked with him a couple of times, and he seems nice,” Sehun continued. “But V would know better, they’ve become friends somehow.”

 

“V?”

 

“Taehyung. It’s his industry name,” Sehun rolled his eyes. “But anyway, why was Baekhyun hyung staring at you?”

 

“I might have shoved a flower pot at him and run away?” Kyungsoo admitted, heading to the kitchen to make tea.

 

“Why?” Sehun inquired, craning his neck to keep Kyungsoo in his line of sight.

 

“His dog has been stealing my flowers,” Kyungsoo sighed.

 

“Mongryong?”

 

“What?” Kyungsoo asked quizzically, sparing Sehun a glance.

 

“The corgi?” Sehun asked, now fiddling with his phone. “That is so cute.”

 

“It’s not,” Kyungsoo said stubbornly. “I’m been growing my flowers all through summer, and this damned loaf of a dog makes off with them like they are free candy.”

 

“That’s all dramatic, but that still doesn’t explain you shoving a flower pot at hyung,” Sehun drawled.

 

“I..umm…don’t know why I did that?” Kyungsoo admitted in a small voice.

 

Sehun was silent for a good minute, so Kyungsoo turned around to find the blond model/dancer studying him. “Explain,” Sehun finally said, steepling his hands on his thighs and resting his face on his hands.

 

“I- he kinda opened the door and smiled at me, and I just – ran away?” Kyungsoo replied confusedly.

 

All of a sudden, Sehun’s expression morphed into one of realization, and he smiled, very, very slyly, at Kyungsoo.

 

“What?” Kyungsoo asked, starting to feel slightly terrified of Sehun’s expression.

 

“Nothing,” Sehun shook his head, smiling. “Just, I didn’t think I’d ever see this day.”

 

“What day?” Kyungsoo asked, tilting his head.

 

“Someone giving you the gay panic,” Sehun chuckled.

 

“I’m not having the gay panic,” Kyungsoo replied, two octaves higher than his usual voice.

 

“Right, of course,” Sehun pacified. “You just saw an attractive guy and ran away. Because that’s the epitome of normal.”

 

“I’m impressed that you know the word epitome, Mr. Model,” Kyungsoo shot back, sitting down at his kitchen counter.

 

“I’m amused that you think that could distract me,” Sehun replied cheekily, fetching his own cup of tea. “Besides, plenty of models are real smart. Hyuk is top of his class at the uni, and studying with full scholarship. But that’s irrelevant now. What are you planning to do when Baekhyun hyung comes knocking?”

 

“Why would he come knocking?”

 

“Because it’s not everyday someone shoves a pot at you and flees,” Sehun quipped. “Way to make an unforgettable first impression though!”

 

Kyungsoo whimpered, slamming his head on the countertop, and Sehun chuckled again, chummily thumping his back.

 

“What am I going to do?” Kyungsoo asked in a muffled voice.

 

Sehun opened his mouth and closed it when the doorbell suddenly rang out.

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and he considered jumping through his window and fleeing, but then Sehun was gripping his arm in a death-grip and shaking his head.

 

“Who is it?” Sehun called out.

 

“I’m Baekhyun, erm-your new neighbor. From earlier this morning,” he replied _loudly_ from outside. “You umm-gave me a flower pot?”

 

Kyungsoo garbled under his breath, cheeks burning scarlet. And sighing, Sehun got up from his seat and went to open the door.

 

“Hey, Baek hyung,” he greeted.

 

“Sehun?” Baekhyun said confusedly. “But I just saw someone else run into this hou-wait, do you have a cute boyfriend you’ve been hiding from me?”

Kyungsoo buried his head back on the counter when he heard Sehun cackle. _Wait did rectangular gri- Baekhyun – just call Kyungsoo cute?_

 

“I think Jongin might cry fat tears and refuse to talk to all of us for weeks if he heard you say that,” Sehun said fondly. “I’m just here for free breakfast, come in!”

 

“Thanks,” Baekhyun said, his voice moving closer. “And wait, Jongin is your boyfriend? As in Jongin, my Mongryongie’s sitter?”

 

“The same. He loves dogs,” Sehun replied. “But come now, let me formally introduce you two.”

 

Kyungsoo snapped his head up and sat upright just as Sehun and Baekhyun made their way in. Baekhyun was now wearing a button-down and jeans, instead of the tee and shorts he had on earlier. _Shame, really. Kyungsoo wouldn’t mind eyeing those legs again_.

 

“Soo hyung, this is Baekhyun hyung. Your next door neighbor, and a nurse at the pediatric clinic downtown.”

 

 _Cute, and smart?_ ! Kyungsoo was so fucked. (Okay, so he might be having a _tiny_ bit of gay panic)

 

“Nice to meet you, Baekhyun-sshi,” Kyungsoo said instead, relieved that his voice sounded calm.

 

“And Baek hyung, this is Kyungsoo hyung,” Sehun continued, not giving Baekhyun a chance to speak. “Mongryong has been stealing hyung’s flowers.”

 

“Oh,” Baekhyun squawked in surprised, and damn if Kyungsoo didn’t find that cute too. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. I am terribly sorry, Kyungsoo-sshi. He was just getting me flowers because I have been coming home drained from night shifts, I didn’t even think where he was stealing them from. I promise it won’t happen again.”

 

 _It’s fine_ , Kyungsoo means to say. And maybe even _thank you_.

 

Instead what comes out of his mouth is, “You’re cute and it’s making me stupid.”

 

Kyungsoo immediately claps his hands over his mouth and Sehun bites into his lip, trying to stop himself from howling with laughter, and Baekhyun – his ears turn rosy pink.

 

An awkward silence ensues, and Kyungsoo can almost hear five generations of his ancestors facepalming themselves in the blessed heaven. So, he abruptly turns towards his stove and says in a high-pitched voice, “Is anyone hungry? I’ll make us all sandwiches. Eggs and mayo okay?”

 

“I gotta run,” Sehun replies. “Job calls and all that, but enjoy yourselves! Bye!”

 

“But didn’t you say you came over for breakf-,” Kyungsoo starts, only to find Sehun dashing out his door. “Never mind.” He then forces himself to look at Baekhyun, who is still standing frozen in the threshold of his kitchen.

 

Baekhyun looks kinda dazed, so Kyungsoo offers some tea.

 

Nodding, Baekhyun quietly moves into the kitchen, and busies himself pouring a cup of tea. He chooses a pink and peach monstrosity of a cup that Chanyeol had made by hand and gifted to Kyungsoo ages ago, and stares at the kettle as it whistles, and Kyungsoo keeps glancing at him as he boils eggs on the stove.

 

“I am really sorry about Mongryong, Kyungsoo-sshi,” Baekhyun says when Kyungsoo is almost done peeling the eggs.

 

“It’s nothing, and please just call me Kyungsoo.”

 

“But I feel bad. Please let me make it up to you,” Baekhyun insists. “Can I buy you more flowers? Or seeds? Or, I don’t know, some pesticide?”

 

“It’s fine,” Kyungsoo laughs, feeling more at ease. “My florist will be very upset if I got gardening things from anyone other than him. He’s kinda possessive that way.”

 

“Oh,” Baekhyun says, sounding somewhat morose.

 

Kyungsoo thinks back on his words and realizes how they might be misconstrued. “Oh no, we’re not – Yixing hyung is my friend Jongdae’s partner. I’m not, I mean- I am single.”

 

“Oh,” Baekhyun says brightly, and even with his back turned, Kyungsoo can feel the warmth of his smile.

 

“In that case,” Baekhyun says, stepping up beside Kyungsoo and peeking at him. “How about dinner?”

 

“Dinner? Like, a date?” Kyungsoo feels the need to clarify, eyes going wide.

 

Baekhyun smiles, making his nose wrinkle, and Kyungsoo drops his knife on his thumb.

( _Okay, he might be having a full-blown gay panic_.)

.

.

.

 

“So, he asked you on a date and you almost cut off your thumb, am I getting this right?” The doctor – Minseok – who is tending to Kyungsoo’s hand asks, eyes shifting between the two of them.

 

“Hyung,” Baekhyun whines, and Minseok chuckles.

 

After Kyungsoo had dropped the knife on his hand, both he and Baekhyun had panicked until Baekhyun had remembered that he, as a medical professional, knew other medical professionals, and that’s how they had Uber-ed to Dr. Minseok’s house, only a 10-minute ride away from their neighborhood. And between cleaning and stitching Kyungsoo’s hand, Minseok had somehow wrangled the entire story from Baekhyun.

 

“Stop teasing them,” Junmyeon, Minseok’s husband chastised, walking in with coffee and sandwiches for everyone. “It’s nice to see you again, Baekhyunnie, despite the circumstances, and we are all glad you weren’t injured worse, Kyungsoo-sshi.”

 

“Just Kyungsoo will do,” Kyungsoo bowed politely.

 

“Okay then, how do you take your coffee, Just Kyungsoo?” Junmyeon piped up, making Minseok snort. Junmyeon beamed, undeterred by the non-reaction of the other two, and Kyungsoo exchanged a look with an equally exasperated Baekhyun, wondering how this was their life.

.

.

.

 

“So, this has been a dramatic morning,” Baekhyun says, stopping at Kyungsoo’s gate.

 

“You could say that again,” Kyungsoo smiles, thinking back on their entire morning.

 

After getting his hand stitched, they had spent another another half an hour at the Kim residence, being ~~tormented by~~ subjected to terrible dad jokes, after which they had walked back together to their homes, talking about their lives, and interests.

 

Baekhyun, Kyungsoo is surprised to find, is trained in classical music. He apparently attended a piano academy all through his teenage, and only left playing when he moved to uni. Kyungsoo doesn’t mind sharing that he had read Jane Austen during a school holiday, and how that had made him an avid fan of English literature, and decided his career trajectory.

 

It has been a nice chat, and now here they were…

 

Loitering at the divide between their homes, not wanting the conversation to end.

 

Finally Baekhyun sighs, scratching at his head. “I’d love to continue talking to you, but I have been pulling all-nighter shifts at the clinic all week, and I’m afraid if I don’t fall asleep in 10 minutes, we’re going to have to Uber back to Minseok hyung’s.”

 

“That’s all right,” Kyungsoo smiles, scrambling for words, and finding none that he wants to say out loud. _He’s known Baekhyun for a grand total of 4 hours, it’s too damn early for him to become this incoherent._

“I meant what I said earlier, by the way,” Baekhyun says suddenly, breaking into his reverie. “I would like to take you out on a date, if-if you would want to.”

 

Kyungsoo pauses for a moment – mostly for effect – and studies the nervous hopefulness on Baekhyun’s pretty face. Being around Baekhyun is going to be an adventure, he can already tell. Like, sure he’ll turn into a klutz more and more, but if Baekhyun keeps smiling at him like this, then who is he to say no?

 

“On one condition,” Kyungsoo says solemnly, feeling brave. “You have to make up for _all_ my stolen flowers with dates.”

 

“Deal,” Baekhyun grins immediately, sticking his hand out like they’re making a business deal.

 

Kyungsoo laughs, taking his hand, and is surprised when Baekhyun pulls him in for a hug. Baekhyun smells like laundry detergent, and sunshine, and cinnamon and honey, and Kyungsoo nuzzles into his shirt, bracketing Baekhyun’s shoulders with his hands.

 

An incessant yipping noise breaks them apart, and looking down they find Mongryong pawing at Baekhyun’s fence, with a chrysanthemum stuck in his mouth.

 

“That makes it fifteen,” Kyungsoo teases goodnaturedly, picking the orange flower from the dog and tucking it behind Baekhyun’s ear.

 

“I’ll get him to stop before he defiles your entire garden,” Baekhyun promises, leaning down and petting his corgi, making the dog gurgle and roll around happily.

 

“I’ll see you some time, then,” Kyungsoo waves, feeling affection for both Baekhyun and his corgi blooming in his chest.

 

“How about tonight?” Baekhyun offers, looking up from where he’s crouching. “There’s this sushi place I’ve been wanting to check out. Would you like to go with me?”

 

Kyungsoo beams, and Baekhyun feels himself swoon a bit.

 

When this absolutely cute stranger had come to shove a pot at him earlier this morning, Baekhyun had been struck dumb by his pretty lips and big eyes. And then by him shoving a flower pot at him and disappearing.

 

And now, he had scored a date with his lovely, caramel-voiced and kind neighbor, Kyungsoo.

 

And he was just…overjoyed!

 

And it was all because of Mongryongie, who had gone to steal flowers to cheer him up, and had instead gotten him a date with a cute boy that he wouldn’t mind getting to know for a lifetime!

 

What luck!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading lovelies!! ^_^ 
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts on the story, so please let me know <3  
> Cheers!


End file.
